---- "Sansa is always playing the victim. Why else would Grandpa Alexander force you to marry her? Why would he let her control you like this, taking away your freedom? "Or... do you actually like that woman?" "Only a dog would like her!" Benedict snapped. "T wish she'd give up on me already." Lina glanced at the discarded invitation and let a smug smile tug at her lips. "That's easy enough to fix. I've got another idea, Benedict. Fake an engagement! "On the day of the event, the fiance disappears. Then let's see if Grandpa Alexander and Sansa still dare to push you around after that!" Benedict hesitated. He didn't want to take a joke that far, not when it involved something so serious. But Lina stirred up the crowd, and under their jeering encouragement, he couldn't say no. ---- "Fine," he said. "Let's fake it." Meanwhile, I was on the phone with Alexander. "sansa, Theodore said he'1I be back in a few days for the engagement. Seeing you end up with someone you truly care for puts my heart at ease. "yYou've worked hard all these years, looking after Benedict for me." Yes, Ihad. The person I loved had never been Benedict, but his older brother, Theodore Bradford. Back then, when Alexander insisted I was destined to be his granddaughter-in-law, everyone naturally assumed I would marry Benedict. Even Theodore had not reacted to the news. And when I finally gathered the courage to confess my feelings to Alexander, and Theodore agreed to marry me, he didn't say much either. ---- Maybe, in his eyes, it didn't matter who he married. But still, the thought of being with him made my heart flutter. "Three days from now, at the engagement party, I'll personally announce your engagement to Theodore!" Just as the call ended, a new message popped up on my phone. It was from Benedict. [We'll get engaged in three days.]